| Northeast Slopes 10-29-2005 Trip Report |
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| Northeast Slopes 10-29-2005   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Oct 29, 2005 Activities: Hiking Season: Fall | Page By: altitude14er Created/Edited: Mar 21, 2006 / Apr 2, 2006 Object ID: 182495 Hits: 214 Loading... Page Score: 79.9% - 2 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
An Easy Hike Completed with a Hangover!
I woke up at 7:00am on a descent day in October. Despite a headache I felt alright and hopped in my car. The forecast said it might snow a bit up high. On this peak I wasn't worried about it. I knew the area well in the event of a white out. I got to the trailhead at around 9am, taking my time. After having already climbed 15 of the hundred highest peaks in Colorado in 2005 up to this point, I wasn't expecting a challenge. I parked before the large mine on the right side of the road. It was about a fifteen minute walk to the mine. This was because the road was wet and snow covered, looking nasty for my Chevy Cavalier. I started up the road and made it to treeline quickly. After the fourwheel drive road turnoff to your left, continue northwest up the same road you were on (straight). This road holds some snow in winter but was generally snow free on this day. My views of Sheridan and Sherman expanded. I could see everything except the tops of them due to the storm further west. I wasn't in the mood for snow but wouldn't be deterred from this easy goal. After a while I got off the road towards the left. The road dips down at first to a little drainage/creek and then the slope steadily goes up towards Sheridan and Peerless. It's steep enough that I didn't have a good view of Peerless at first while ascending slightly southwest. I stopped in a small mine building on the side of the grassy slope. I sat down and had a snack as well as a cigarette. Ooops. I trudged up towards the Horseshoe - Sheridan saddle and got rewarding views to match. I reflected upon my previous climbs up Horseshoe and Sheridan. I enjoy this area and reserve it for winter and fall trips. I got within several hundred feet of the summit and realized Peerless' direct East face is fairly steep (40 degrees - maybe?) It also seems to hold alot of snow in winter I'd remembered. I decided not to trudge up the snow, despite my urge to take out my ice axe and climb up. Instead I headed for the saddle connecting Sheridan and Peerless which was slightly to the right. When I got to the saddle I realized it had alot of snow on it for late October. I ascended the slippery ridge to the "summit". It provided great views, excluding the cloud cover drifting around the higher summits. I noticed that I couldn't see anything but the lower portions of Elbert and Massive to the west. I enjoyed the summit for a short period and decided to descend, it had started snowing a little bit. I got down to my car without incident and as I got ready for the drive home and put my gear up it did begin to snow pretty hard. I gladly drove back to Denver, not missing the snow. as I drove down the remaining dirt/gravel portion of the road it got pretty muddy, love the mountains but I was glad to leave. Images
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Mosquito Range
